Yamada Shuhei, Sugahara Kazuyuki, Ozbek Suat
Laboratory of Proteoglycan Signaling and Therapeutics; Faculty of Advanced Life Science; Graduate School of Life Science; Hokkaido University; Sapporo, Japan.
Commun Integr Biol. 2011 Mar;4(2):150-8. doi: 10.4161/cib.4.2.14547.
Glycosaminoglycans, a major component of the extracellular matrix molecules in animal tissues, play important roles in various physiological events. Glycosaminoglycans are found in not only vertebrates but also many invertebrates, implying a conserved function in the animal kingdom. Here, we discuss the analysis of glycosaminoglycans in 11 invertebrate phyla focusing on structure as well as physiological functions elucidated in model organisms. Various sulfated structures of heparan sulfate are widely distributed from very primitive organisms to humans, indicating an involvement in fundamental biological processes. By contrast, chondroitin/dermatan sulfate from lower organisms is limited in its structural complexity and often associated with a particular function. The presence of hyaluronic acid outside of vertebrates has been reported only in a mollusk.
糖胺聚糖是动物组织细胞外基质分子的主要成分，在各种生理活动中发挥着重要作用。糖胺聚糖不仅存在于脊椎动物中，也存在于许多无脊椎动物中，这意味着在动物界具有保守功能。在此，我们讨论了对11个无脊椎动物门中糖胺聚糖的分析，重点关注其结构以及在模式生物中阐明的生理功能。硫酸乙酰肝素的各种硫酸化结构广泛分布于从非常原始的生物到人类的生物中，表明其参与了基本的生物学过程。相比之下，低等生物中的软骨素/硫酸皮肤素在结构复杂性上有限，并且通常与特定功能相关。脊椎动物以外的透明质酸仅在一种软体动物中被报道过。
